boiler

Here are the specs for my el-cheapo PSU:

Coolmax 400W

+3.3V - 30A

+5V - 28A

+12V1 - 14A

+12V2 - 15A

I know this is el-cheapo that came with the case, so I would not be too surprised if this is the problem.

UPDATE:

I ran speed fan, and now I'm pretty confused.... My BIOS claims that my 12V rail is getting 12.132V and my 5V rail is getting 5.134V, but here's what speedfan says:

Vcore: 1.37V

+12V: 5.65V

3.3V: 3.34V

Vcc: 5.07V

Vin2: 0.00V

5Vsb: 5.07V

Vbat: 0.00V

Is this the cause of my problems??? If so I'm getting on Newegg as soon as someone confirms and am buying a stinking Antec 500W beaut.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I know it's not a vid card problem, the card is new as of november, and I checked the fan and temps an hour ago and all is well. Never gotten a heat warning for the card (as I set it up to do so). It also sometimes reboots when I'm running non-graphics intensive apps, so I can rule that out.

Is there any way to determine if something's wrong with my psu? I know what the ratings are supposed to be for it. They're right near the lower requirements of my 7800gt, but wouldn't I notice a more frequent problem than a few times every couple of weeks? I can sometimes play cs,nfsmw, etc for several hours and not have any problem at all, then have the thing reboot on me when I'm checking e-mail.

Any suggestions as far as mem tests? I don't have any spare sticks of ram floating around (this is my only desktop and my first-ever build). I do have 2 sticks of 512, so I guess I could remove one and test them seperately...

Thanks for your help guys, I need to solve this silly problem

I've been having a problem for probably the last 2 1/2 months with my computer randomly restarting. I will be in the middle of something, then all of a sudden the screen goes black and it goes to reboot. No idea why. I could be playing CS or just listening to music and surfing the net. Occasionally when it does this reboot, the BIOS output says my cpu is running faster than it's supposed to.

This problem is weird... sometimes it happens three times in one day, then it doesn't happen again for like a week and a half. Could this be caused by my crappy motherboard? Here's what I know/think:

1) I KNOW it's not an overheating issue. my P4 630 idles at 38C and maxes at 53C.

2) I know I am not getting any type or error or warning, it just restarts.

3) I THINK that my psu is fine. It's not a top-o-the-line psu, but its decent for what I'm running.

4) I know I did not spend $120+ on this motherboard.

5) I know I do not have any spare parts to "test" my rig with.

6) I am 99.9% sure I do not have a virus or spyware. I ran mcafee enterprise and anti-spyware and both came up with nothing.

Any ideas what might be causing this? Unstable motherboard? Bad PSU? Other?

I can probably afford to replace maybe ONE thing on this comp, but that would be it.

Here's my system specs:

P4 630 3.0GHz

ECS 945P ATX motherboard

200GB WD Caviar SATA2

1GB (2x512) Corsair RAM

eVGA GeForce 7800GT

Lite-On DVD +/- R/RW

Thanks for your help in advance!

uhhhh, that would be its TAIL.

somehow i find it fitting that peckles got a pony...

and not my cool burnt and smoking egg!

I dont have a specific map in mind, but something with deagles/knives would ROCK

i hvae to quit playing whenever my fiance walks in. cs is my mistress.

DUDE! I have to do that too! My fiance doesn't go for the gaming thing

Same problem again, 2/7/06

Been stuck for upwards of 20 minutes.

I don't think your current upgrade from 3.0Ghz to a 3200+ is feasible finacially. Sure you may get 10 or so more FPS, but is it worth $300's? If your going to switch to AMD i would at least go with a 3700+, when your taking about spending 300 dollars for a few more FPS, is 60 bucks really that much of an impact?

I see your point, but IF I were to do this upgrade, I would be getting most of the money to purchase the AMD set-up from the sale of my current hardware. That would leave me with $60-80 out of pocket, which is more doable than $120-140 for the 3700+... Plus I hear the 3200+ is a pretty good OCer which can increase it's value for its price.

Alright, since the forum's title includes "casualware", and no one has posted something regarding this topic that I have found (in my not-so-extensive-search), I'm starting a completely pointless thread on your "casualware" of choice while gaming...

Personally, I rock teh AE "washed out" jeans and a harley-davidson t-shirt from a location of my choice, complemented by a stylish yet classic Purdue hooded sweatshirt for those chilly Indiana months.

Corporate world be darned, I'm gonna wear what I wanna when I'm gaming.

Ok, keep it clean guys and gals... if you game in your birthday suits, I REALLY don't wanna know about it...

AMD is coming out with a new socket soon (socket AM2) which is supposed to support DDR 2. I was hearing something like middle of 2006 it is supposed to be released. Anyways you might want to hold off and get the new socket when it comes out.

I have heard something to that effect myself, however I am not the type that lives on the "bleeding edge" of technology, cause it costs a freakin arm and a leg to do so. I am also not a serious enthusiast that is willing to drop tons of money into a system to have the latest and greatest. I figure a 3200+ that has OCing ability would last me several years until I could afford a more serious mobo/cpu/ram upgrade. In the meantime, I could even go X2 if i felt the need to upgrade my 3200+ (still socket 939).

At this point, my offer to sell my current cpu/mobo/ram still stands.... I still have all original packaging and documentation (including newegg shipping info if desired).

mobo is solid. cpu is ok but only if you plan on ocing otherwise go with a 3700. and then if you're gonna oc switch the mobo to a dfi ultra-d or similar. think about 2gigs of ram. with my high end vid card using high qual textures i'm up around 95% ram usage in source with only 1 gig.

I think I have settled on the 3200+, the $60+ jump to the 3700 is just not worth it/financially feasible considering what I would be expecting to get for my current cpu/mobo/ram setup. Basically I'm trying to see if I can spend about what I did on the components I currently have and get better performance for going AMD...

You guys seem to be giving positive reviews on the mobo/cpu (I know ASUS mobos are great, I've built another comp with one), so I think I'm headed in the right direction on that. As far as the RAM is concerned, I am not as much of an enthusiast as some people are and don't see a need to go with really expensive RAM. I am certainly considering getting 2 GB, but I think I'm going to go with 1 GB for now then get a second when I have more money.

At this point, I spose I'm looking to see if there are any serious takers for my current equip listed above. As I stated before, those components are virtually new (only 3 months old) and have not been abused whatsoever. The P4 was OCed to 3.4 for about two days, then I put it back to stock, but it was running perfectly fine at that speed and never got above 59C (even on stock cooling). Since its all still relevant and not outdated stuff, I don't think I will part with them for significantly less than what I paid. I'd prefer to sell as a bundle. If there are any interested parties, you can send me a personal message or post here.

How soon are you wanting to do this? If you wait a while I have a that same 3200+ coming in that I ordered last night for some testing. I can see how far I can overclock it and then sell it for less than new. And I may want the P4 630.

I'm not in a huge rush... I'd like to not take a huge hit when doing this switch out if possible, so I guess the cicumstances will determine whether or not I actually do this. From a performance standpoint, I think that I would like to do this, but I'll wait for some more input from people. Let me know what you're up to with that.

I'm considering getting an AMD setup and replacing my current P4-based system. I previously did not know anything about AMD, so I read up a little, checked the forums, and I think this is a possible setup I would look at:

Mobo:

ASUS A8N-E

Processor:

Athlon 64 3200+

RAM:

Corsair 1 GB (2x512)

First of all, how would this setup compare to my current cpu/mobo/ram:

ECS 945P-A

P4 630 3.0GHz

Corsair 1 GB DDR2 533

My graphics is a eVGA 7800GT.

This potential purchase would obviously only come if I could find someone to buy those three items I currently have (they are only 3 months old). Let me know what you guys think about this. Would I see much of a performance increase from what I have now? If not, then I'll just stick with what I have. Thanks!

Why, why, why, why, why, AGP???? What card do you have? Your so much

better off with PCI-e if your starting over again.

I agree... doesn't make much sense to buy new mobo and cpu then stay with agp. If you're savin money anyway, save another couple hundred and get a pci-ex16 gfx card to go with it. Even a "cheaper" or "older" pci-ex16 gfx card would give you similar or better performance than what you might have now and give you flexibility for the future!

Why is everyone using my pet name for my Norg? Since when did guys use girls' pet names to refer to their fellow men. That just seems a little curvy to me. You guys need to back off b4 i deagle you! but then Shrop is a weird serial killer, im sure he's into that kinda stuff. :-P Oh and Norg, it's not just for any member with 'bewbs', because if any other girl ever calls you that i will have to seriously put a hurt on them. That's right ebil, becca, and girl gamer, if you mess with my man, imma be the one to break it to ya, got my girls, got my man, so find your own and leave mine alone. (good song)

 

Norgy-Poo is like the best guitar player ever! w00t!

Dang, I think all of you just got TOLD.

The Great Peckles is also #1 of my "Most Killed". I'm winning. Pest-34 v. The Great Peckles-33, will be a never ending battle. =)

You hear taht, Peckles? We're comin for ya!!

I got my woman a diamond ring for christmas, so that got me off teh hook for valentine's day

I must not know what I'm getting myself in to...

Ahhh the forum is complete, my free kill has joined! <3

 

17:18 sax:pecks ...... FREE KILL MY A... BUTT!! Just gimme one more clear shot

 

Ahaha NEVER!!!!

Update: 20:20 sax v pecks

Not only have I evened teh score, but you are at the top of my "most killed"

Im thinking there may be something wrong here.

old p4 2.8, 1 gig ddr333, 6600gt in a 4xagp slot.

I dont go down into the 30s. Ever.

what gfx settings do you use, laz? mine occasionnaly dips into 30s w/ P43.0, 1 gb ddr2 533 and 7800gt, but i have everything maxed out and i need to be in a heavy firefight!

HILLARY TO CANADA, EH!!!!

btw NOFX, thats SOOOOOOOOO WRONG

Ahhh the forum is complete, my free kill has joined! <3

17:18 sax:pecks ...... FREE KILL MY A... BUTT!! Just gimme one more clear shot

Noooooooo!!! I've only been a registered member of teh forum for three days, and you guys already got me puttin a stinkin egg in my sig, eh?

kruten, how's bunny's quest for world domination going?

Hey k-wix, if you want I can record an entire map for you to use as a "blooper" reel!

Bask in teh glory taht is my suckness!

What is it and why?

 

But what would explain the game staying in 30 fps? Would vsync make him get over 60 fps and not hit 30 anymore?

From what I understand, vsync is a setting that will try to match your framerates to your monitor's refresh rate (60Hz for most lcds i think). I had it turned on too, and when I turned it off I was getting framerates 15-20 fps higher. V-Sync is probably one of the culprits holding you back. Cujo's the man though, listen to him!